Top Tory: Pleb rant Mitchell’s damaged

PLEB row Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell will find it “very, very difficult” to do his job properly after his vile rant at cops, close pal David Davis warned last night.

The ex-shadow home secretary said his fellow Tory had been badly damaged by the row.

His comments came after Mr Mitchell — who ran Mr Davis’s leadership campaign in 2005 — pulled out of next week’s Tory conference. Friends of the shamed politician said he did not want to become a “distraction”.

Mr Davis warned the coming weeks will be tricky for his friend.

He said: “He will have a difficult time.

“What does a Chief Whip have at his fingertips to deploy normally? Well, a mixture of charm, rewards, appeals to loyalty — all of those are diluted at the moment.”

Labour accused Mr Mitchell of “running scared”. A spokesman added: “It’s ridiculous that the Chief Whip would rather dodge his own party conference than do what is right.”